Qortbawi, Charbel, Higher Committee for Consultations Discuss Legality of Civil Marriage

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and two judges from the Higher Committee for Consultations discussed on Friday the controversial civil marriage in Lebanon.

Qortbawi, Charbel and Judges Sami Mansour and Marwan Karkabi held the talks at the justice ministry, the National News Agency said. The third member of the Committee, Judge Omar al-Natour, failed to attend the meeting for being abroad.

The officials discussed the legal aspect of the decision the Committee issued earlier this month to consider legal all civil marriages conducted in Lebanon by people that do not have any religious affiliations.

The Committee said notaries have the authority to oversee civil marriage contracts, and that the couple has the freedom to designate a civil law.

The civil marriage of Kholoud Succariyeh and Nidal Darwish created controversy in Lebanon after the couple wed by having their religious sects legally struck from their family registers under an article dating from the 1936 French mandate.

Since their union, President Michel Suleiman has lobbied for a civil marriage law as a very important step in eradicating sectarianism and solidifying national unity.

Despite a long-running campaign by civil groups, civil marriage has no legal basis in Lebanon.

Former president Elias Hrawi in 1998 proposed a similar law, which gained approval from the cabinet only to be halted amid widespread opposition from the country’s religious authorities.

Lebanese authorities recognize civil weddings only if they have been registered abroad, and thousands of mixed-faith couples have traveled to nearby Cyprus or Turkey to marry.